Annual Starks Mayhaw Festival begins tonight

In the month of May, when the hawthorn tree releases its fruit, the people of Starks rejoice.

It's not just because the fruit will soon be stewed down to make a southern delicacy — mayhaw
jelly. The berries also serve as the namesake for the city’s most revered festival.

The Starks Mayhaw Festival, now in its 21st year will feature carnival rides, live music and jelly-making demonstrations and contests and will be held beginning Thursday through Saturday at the corners of La. 109 and 12 in Starks.

A representative for the Starks Mayhaw Festival said the celebration began not just as a way to honor the fruit so easily found in the area, but as a way for local organizations to raise money for their various projects throughout the year.

“We’re not a very large city, and we
don’t have many businesses, so every time our churches, fire departments
and schools
needed to earn money for their projects, they’d have to go to the
same four businesses every time. Eventually, they got together
and decided if there was a festival such as this one, they’d have a
chance to garner some outside money; it’s a great economic
boost to our little town,” Evelyn White, Starks Mayhaw Festival
Chairman said. “About the same time we were talking about
starting this festival, the mayhaws were in bloom. We decided it
was the one thing we had in common all over Starks, so we
named it for the berries.”

The festival will kick off today at 5 p.m., with carnival rides to open from 5 to 9 p.m. A performance by Norma Hopson and
Band will begin at 6:30 to be followed by a talent show at 7:30 which will be open to the public with a $10 entry fee for
contestants. The night will be finished with a performance by the Calvary Apostolic Church Singers at 8:30, followed by an
encore performance by the Starks Mayhaw Festival Talent Show 2013 winners at 9:30 p.m.

The festivities on Friday, begin at 3
p.m. with a kid’s bike parade, with the winners of the parade to be
announced at 4 p.m.
An encore performance by the Calvary apostolic Church Singers will
take place at 7 p.m., and carnival rides will be open from
5 to 9 p.m.

Saturday will find the festival opening
at 8:30 a.m. with the serving of biscuits topped with mayhaw jelly and
freshly churned
butter, followed by a mayhaw jelly-making demonstration by Carlton
Gibson. The education of mayhaw growers will continue at
9:30 a.m. with a lesson on how to graft hawthorne trees. The
Starks Lions Club will hold a domino tournament at 10 a.m. at
the Lions Club office located at 4743 Evangeline Highway, while on
the main fairgrounds a scavenger hunt and sack race will
be held for children.

The day will continue at 12 p.m. with
the introduction of the Starks Mayhaw Festival Queens Court, with an
auction to follow
at 1 p.m. A performance by Mark Reeves and Twisted X will take
place at 5:30 p.m. followed by a performance by Clayton Rougeau
and the Wild West Band at 7:30 p.m. Carnival rides will be open
from 5 to 9 p.m.

SATURDAY IS THE BIGGEST DAY OF THE MAYHAW FESTIVAL! KNOWING ITS THAT WAY WHY DO THEY NOT OPEN CARNIVAL RIDES AT 12 NOON? PEOPLE BRING THEIR KIDS OUT THERE AND THE KIDS GET ANTSY AFTER WALKING AROUND 2 ROWS OF BOOTHS 20 TIMES BECAUSE THE PARENTS DOESNT WANT TO MISS ANYTHING. CARNIVAL RIDES NEED TO OPEN EARLY!